This invention relates to improvements in suspended cradles for use in the inspection and maintenance of difficulty accessible structures.
Known suspended cradles used for these purposes comprise a caged platform which is suspended and moved on cables. Whilst these known cradles have been developed so that, with skillful use, they are satisfactory in enabling many difficult inspection and maintenance tasks to be carried out, there are environments, such as the underneath of an off-shore oil production platform, where it is difficult and hazardous to install and operate such cable type cradles. In the case of the underneath of an oil production platform, this is because of the relatively restricted space between the underneath of the platform and the surface of the sea, the activity of the sea itself and the numerous obstructions in the form of pipes, beams and the like encounted beneath the platform.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved suspended cradle which is suitable for use in the inspection and maintenance of difficulty accessible structures such as off-shore oil production platforms.